MizDaisy

17 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

I could care less about fluff descriptions like 56 acres of whatever. 

 

Either we are really dumb or to us it was worth the money because we've done it twice. We didn't pay $179 because of Latitudes program discounts and shore excursion credits from the cruise line.

 

It's pricey but we enjoyed it. Nice beach, nice pool, good lunch.

I thought about that after I asked, and I realized that you wouldn't have gone back, if you hadn't liked it! Sorry! Not sure where my brain was! But thank you very much for your thoughts. I appreciate it.

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

Not the two times I've taken it, last year and about two weeks ago. In both cases it was the Estelar Santamar. 

And that's what they call a 56 acre ecological beach resort??? Not in my book. Regardless, did you enjoy it? Was it worth $179.00?

In case anyone is curious, the resort in question is Gitana Del Mar.

One very quick (I hope) question....first time cruising on Royal Caribbean, and it's a bit different than what I'm used to...if I buy the drink package, do I pay for it online, or will it be charged to my onboard account once I get there? Thanks in advance.

As far as switching out the items in the mini bar setup, they will only offer certain liquor for exchange. For example, if there's one in there that you don't like, you can't ask for something totally different than what is already offered, they will only come take away what you don't like, and replace it with one or two of the others that are already there. Except for some kinds of beer, soda and water. They'll exchange any of your sodas or liquor for those. And maybe wine....not sure about that, since we don't drink wine.

Other than having your toiletries right at hand, where you can easily see everything and not have to dig, another good reason for the over-the-door organizers is that you can store bottles of liquid items upright and not worry about having them spill inside the bag you may otherwise be using. Also, if you're cruising with friends, such as a few "girlfriends", there isn't always room for EVERYONE'S stuff in the bathroom.

To each his own, I say. I find it discouraging when someone asks a question, and rather than answer it, others feel the need to add their opinion.

So to help answer the question, rather than use the hooks, I use baggie ties and connect mine to a pant or skirt hanger. The hanger can then hang on the robe hooks, or in the closet, which is almost always right outside the bathroom door.

I never understood this race to be the first to the pub, and then recognition from Carnival's social network.

 

There is zero, or near zero, chance that any handicapped or disabled person will be the first to the pub, and therefore I feel that it is somewhat a discriminatory practice/custom for Carnival to prop up those without any physical disadvantages in a race to reach alcohol.

Unfortunate, yes. Discriminatory, no. I'm one of those with disabilities and learned a long time ago, just like I taught my kids....sometimes life just isn't fair.

If there were barriers to the NECESSARY things, like food, water, or even the entertainment....then there's a problem. But something as silly as a free beer and a possible picture??? Not even worth mentioning. We'd have a pretty miserable life if we took note of, and complained about, every little thing that we couldn't participate in. I prefer to be happy about the things I CAN participate in.

I'm just glad I'm able to cruise. Period. :)

The name of this thread is: S-Class Cabin Information Compilation - PLEASE - DO NOT POST CABIN QUESTIONS HERE!!!

That was rude. You could have just ignored the post.

Sorry, I should have clarified. We've been to nearly all of the ports in the Caribbean that a ship can sail to, also. There are still a few that I haven't seen, that I would (almost) take any room, any ship, just so I could see those islands.

And there are some I avoid like the plague. And there are a few standout favorites that I'd go to on my favorite ships.....I personally prefer Disney's classic ships, although now that they've redone the Magic, I'm not sure I'd like it anymore. I wish that they'd brought out the Dream and Fantasy and yet left the Magic and Wonder alone, so people could choose which they prefer. But with the competition constantly coming out with more and more and more, I can see why Disney feels the need to add something....anything.....to stay somewhat in touch.

But, as I said before, if I were cruising on Disney, for concierge service alone, it would have to be the Fantasy or the Dream. I feel that some other lines still have Disney beat by a long shot in the concierge department.

If you're going for concierge experience, then the Fantasy wins, hands down.

You would have more space in the room on the Magic, though.

It sounds like you're not concerned about ports and length of cruise, so I won't mention that is always more important to me.

They could really stand out by adding a $4 per day surcharge to the cruise fare ($1 a day for the pop, and $3 to the servers basic wage, the additional cost would go unnoticed by the cruise Guest in their fare) and just have a soda fountain at the bars with auto grat of $1 if for waiter or table service.

Soda in cans at an additional nominal fee of $1.50 plus $1 auto grat tip too.

 

Too simple for those in Canaveral.

 

ex techie

Excellent point. A small surcharge would definitely make it feel a lot more "free" than the extra thousand (or more) that you pay on DCL. Now obviously, you're also paying for the Disney touches, too....

I guess to me, it just boils down to whether or not DISNEY and the touches, are really worth that much more money.

It isn't a matter of the cruise line being SUPERIOR over the others. It's not superior, it's just different.

The good news about guarantee (GTY) is that it's cheaper. The bad news is you may get a room you're not happy with. It's the chance you take.

Depending on how full the cruise is, you might be able to make a move to the same category without any cost to you, but that's doubtful. The cost usually goes up the closer you get to cruise time.

If you want to go up a category, the cost will definitely be more.

I honestly wouldn't worry too much about noise. The midship elevators can have a lot of traffic throughout the day, and at dinner time, and you'd probably hear kids or people, if they're speaking REALLY loudly. But the rooms are well insulated, and it really shouldn't be a problem, especially by bedtime.

I agree.

Mass hysteria propgated by the media, encouraged by the inept government's world-wide, and their failure to manage the situation competently.

 

ex techie

This is exactly correct, especially for the United States. It's election time, and something like this plays right into the hands of the Democratic party.

For the time being, they could close our borders to the "at risk" countries.....but that would go completely against what our current president wants to have happen.

I talked to my pharmacist yesterday while getting my flu shot, and he honestly didn't feel as though Ebola was much of a risk, in the grand scheme of things.

Of course we could all just stay in our homes and be guaranteed (maybe) to never catch anything....but that seems ridiculous.

The likelihood of contracting it on a cruise ship (one that isn't sailing out of or to Africa) is pretty doggone slim. One in a million, maybe? The likelihood of Noro or a standard flu bug or the common cold......MUCH higher. If those things don't keep you from cruising, then neither should Ebola.

Let me put it this way, then.

One time on a cruise, our friend's little girl said she loved being able to eat "free" ice cream all the time, to which her mother replied, "It isn't FREE, it's INCLUDED".......

Everything on the cruise (almost....so don't get picky with me here, you know what I mean....not photos, spa, souvenirs, etc) is INCLUDED in the fare you pay. The more you pay up front, the more perks you'll find. On any line.

Want a suite and all its perks? Pay more. Want an inside room? Pay less.

Of course there will always be exceptions to the rule. I could probably dig through some of my 20+ cruises (on all lines) and find one that was more expensive than a Disney cruise. But that depends on the season, the going rates at the time, the type of room I was in, the length of the cruise, etc.

Either way you look at it, the soda is NOT free, and it's not available in an area that is always convenient. I don't see how that can be debated.:confused:

As to the original question, as stated by others, you CAN leave them on the ship, but I personally wouldn't.

8 and 10 are great ages for seeing other cultures, and learning things they could report back to their classes in school. Maybe extra credit? We had our kids keep a short journal of their travels, and the awesome thing was reading what they wrote later, and seeing things through their eyes.

Ours were 8 and 11 on our first cruise, in Nassau we went to Blue Lagoon, where they practiced snorkeling among other things. The next year, we took them on catamaran snorkel trips and our son is now a diver. They love it.

I see the situation in a couple of ways. The kids will LOVE the ship and the clubs, so leaving them isn't a horrible thing to do (other than the worry of mom and dad missing the ship, or having some kind of accident, heaven forbid) BUT...if my husband and I wanted to go see things on our own, without the kids, we wouldn't take them in the first place. We just were very, very picky about who we left our kids with, and also very into family time and exploring and learning.

That's a great question! I'm looking at videos of the Edge club and I'm wondering if I will be able to pry my 11 year old out of there to go swim with dolphins...

 

Years ago, when he was two, we dragged him out of kids club on NCL to go to a Luau in Hawaii... how I wished we could have left him there on the ship, he was devastated that we dragged him off the ship for a little Hawaiian culture! I guess two is a little young... 11 is an entirely different story.

You're absolutely right. A luau for a 2 year old.....nope. But dolphins?!!! I wouldn't turn that down, but I'm crazy about them. I guess that will depend on what your child is interested in. :)

That is a nice perk. I don't think any of the other lines give free Coke.

Disney charges at least $1000 more for their cruise fare than the other lines (most of them, and most of the time, not always) so that's $1000 minimum for "free" Coke. And the location of the soda fountain isn't convenient, unless you're already at the pool.

Not even Catholic. Just OCD. ;) Unfortunately, I'm one of those who has a hard time not correctly spelling and grammar errors, too. :(

Had to come back and CORRECT my own error! :p:p:p That should have said "not correctING spelling and grammar (or grammatical) errors. :o

I told you I was OCD.

There's been a nasty rumor going around that DCL might once again (after the first unsuccessful attempt) try to establish a new policy of not being able to carry on (or put in checked bags) alcohol.

Time will tell.

In 2 weeks we fly into San Juan for our cruise,and I was told it would be ok to put our alcohol in our checked baggage.We couldn't get it through when we went to Alaska when we brought it in our carryon,but were told it was ok to put it in our checked baggage.

I've seen the way they toss the bags around....just as bad as the airlines. Unless the bottles were packed in heavy foam, I wouldn't want to risk having them break and spill all over my clothes.

And I think that's the reason why the discourage people from putting it in their checked bags in the first place.

That was me. I won the obc at a DVC talk in a drawing they had and was able to buy a gift card in one of the big shops on the Dream (don't remember the name of it). Worked out really well as I used it towards my Disney annual pass later!

Good thinking!!! I'm not sure I would have thought of that....but I will now!

Are you a catholic school teacher? Haha - just kidding. I went to catholic school. I am very particular about how my writing looks - even if I am just writing notes to myself.

Not even Catholic. Just OCD. ;) Unfortunately, I'm one of those who has a hard time not correctly spelling and grammar errors, too. :(

Somebody is jealous :p

From what I understand, he/she was a crew member on DCL and has probably more days onboard than any of us. I don't think jealousy plays into it.

I noticed the handwriting too. Certainly it's someone shoreside, and I'm disappointed that the writing isn't nicer, but I also think if it had been computer generated, it would have less of a personal aspect to it.

We got a postcard like this one quite a few years ago....so I know that they do read the comment cards, and it's nice to know that they do.